GUY Ritchie's King Arthur movie has been savaged by critics.

In typical Ritchie fashion, the film is given a far more gritty and urban sheen than past Camelot-set films as it follows a young Arthur who, unaware of his royal lineage, runs the back streets of Londinium with his crew until he draws the sword Excalibur from the stone.

Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a 25% approval rating from critics and their reviews have been harsh.

Charlie Hunnam as King Arthur [Warner Bros.]

Slant magazine said: "For all the attempts to update King Arthur to be cool and sexy, neither the character nor the film around him musters any spark."

Total Film said: "There's a thin line between visionary and hodgepodge, and it's a line that King Arthur crosses and re-crosses with an abandon that rivals Hunnam's accent sliding from Cockney to Californian and back again."

Empire magazine wrote: "Ritchie's geezerfied King Arthur occasionally sparkles before being scuppered by generic effects, conflicting ideas and an embarrassing celebrity cameo for the ages."

The Daily Telegraph wrote: "So misshapen and inert, your imagination and memory never come close to being sparked by it."

Jude Law appears as Vortigern in the film [Warner Bros.]

And The Hollywood Reporter said: "Loud, bombastic and thuddingly obvious, this is a vulgar movie for vulgar times."

Jude Law

Jude Law

While The Guardian said: "The film rattles along exhilaratingly, if sometimes intermittently, like a fairground rollercoaster that occasionally stops and makes you get out and walk for a few minutes before letting you back on."